JP6123471B2 - vending machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vending machine that sells products such as canned beverages and beverages containing plastic bottles.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, vending machines that sell products such as canned beverages and plastic bottled beverages are provided with a main body cabinet that is a main body of the vending machine. The main body cabinet is formed as a rectangular heat-insulating housing whose front surface is open. The main body cabinet is provided with an outer door and an inner door on the front surface, and a product storage is provided inside. The outer door is for opening and closing the front opening of the main body cabinet. The inner door is for opening and closing the front surface of the commodity storage. The product storage has a heat insulating structure, and a product storage device and a rear duct are provided therein.

  The product storage device stores the products that have been input along the vertical direction, and pays out the lowest product when a sales instruction is given. The product paid out from the product storage device can be taken out through the product outlet provided in the outer door.

  The rear duct is provided on the rear surface of the product storage box, and an upper opening is provided at a location corresponding to the upper area of the product storage device, and a lower opening is provided at a location corresponding to the lower portion of the product storage device. ing. An upper internal fan is provided in front of the upper opening, and a lower internal fan is provided in front of the lower opening. In addition, an evaporator is provided in the air guide path formed by the rear duct. The evaporator constitutes a refrigeration cycle with a compressor, a condenser, and the like provided outside the commodity storage, and is a cooling means for cooling the surrounding air of itself.

  In such a vending machine, when cooling the whole product stored in the product storage device, the upper internal fan is driven. Thereby, the air introduced into the air guide passage through the inlet at the lower part of the rear duct is cooled by the evaporator and discharged from the upper opening. The discharged air passes downward through the product storage device to cool the product stored in the product storage device, and then is again introduced into the air guide path through the introduction port and circulates. On the other hand, when cooling some products stored in the product storage device, the lower internal fan is driven. Thereby, the air introduced into the air guide path through the inlet is cooled by the evaporator and discharged from the lower opening. The discharged air passes through the lower part of the product storage device downward to cool the product stored in the lower part of the product storage device, and then is introduced into the air guide path through the inlet and circulates again. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP 2000-105860 A

  By the way, in the vending machine as described above, for example, in order to reduce power consumption in a time zone where the power demand is high in summer or the like, the cooler that stops the operation of the device that cools the product in such a time zone. Those who drive are known. In particular, in recent years, there has been a demand for an extended cooling operation time.

  Although not explicitly disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, when performing the cold insulation operation with the vending machine, the upper internal blower fan is driven and stored in the product storage device before performing the cold insulation operation. It is considered that the cooling operation for sufficiently cooling the product is performed for a certain period of time. Although the product stored in the product storage device is sufficiently cooled by performing such a cooling operation for a certain time, it is considered that the product is overcooled depending on the state of the product storage. That is, even if the cooling load of the product storage device is not relatively large due to the number of products stored in the product storage device, the outside air temperature, etc., the cooling operation is performed for a certain period of time, resulting in excessive cooling. There is a risk of increasing the amount of power consumption.

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a vending machine capable of extending the cold insulation operation time and reducing power consumption.

In order to achieve the above object, a vending machine according to the present invention is disposed in a storage area in a product storage inside the vending machine body, and stores a product along the vertical direction and gives a sales instruction. A product storage device for paying out the lowest-order product in the case of being disposed, a duct constituting an air guide path partitioned from the storage area by being disposed in the product storage along the vertical direction, and the product It has a lower side internal blower fan provided in the lower area of the storage, and an upper side internal blower fan provided in the upper area of the commodity storage, and the at least one of them is driven to drive the product A vending machine comprising circulation means for circulating air inside the storage between the storage area and the air guide path, and cooling means for cooling the air circulated by the circulation means, above or lateral side apertures formed in the duct et the yield Introducing air pass the air guide path, and stored in the product storage device in the air passing through the lower side opening port or al the air guide path by driving the circulating means in a manner to be sent to the receiving area Control means for sequentially performing a whole cooling operation for cooling the product and a cooling operation for stopping the driving of the circulation means and the cooling means, wherein the control means relates to a cooling load of the goods stored in the product storage device. a cooling load information, calculates the cooling operation supply amount based on the operation information on the cooling load and the cooling operation supply amount, which performs overall cooling operation at the calculated cooling operation supply amount, and further wherein the cold insulating operation During the entire cooling operation, air in the storage area is introduced into the air guide path from an intermediate opening formed between the lower opening and the upper opening in the duct, and from the lower opening. The wind guide And performing the zone cooling operation for cooling the product housed in the lower side of the commodity storage device the air passage by driving the circulating means in a manner to be sent to the storage area of.

  Further, in the vending machine according to the present invention, the operation information is information related to a cooling load and a time for performing the entire cooling operation, and the control means is based on the cooling load information and the operation information. The cooling operation time is calculated, and the total cooling operation is performed in the calculated total cooling operation time.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that, in the vending machine, the control means performs the entire cooling operation while changing the switching timing to the entire cooling operation.

  Further, the present invention is the vending machine, wherein the control means is based on inventory quantity information relating to an inventory quantity of goods in the article storage device and operation information relating to the inventory quantity and time for performing the entire cooling operation. The cooling operation time is calculated, and the total cooling operation is performed in the calculated total cooling operation time.

  Further, in the vending machine according to the present invention, the control unit calculates the overall cooling operation time based on the outside air temperature information related to the outside air temperature and the operation information related to the outside air temperature and the time for performing the entire cooling operation, The total cooling operation is performed in the calculated total cooling operation time.

  Further, in the vending machine according to the present invention, the control unit includes the number of sales included in the sales information on the same day of the week as the date of the next cold insulation operation in the sales information of the product for each day of the week until the previous week, And the total cooling operation time is calculated based on the operation information regarding the total cooling operation time and the total cooling operation is performed during the calculated total cooling operation time.

In the vending machine, the present invention further includes a lower internal temperature sensor that detects a temperature in the lower part of the storage area, and an upper internal temperature sensor that detects a temperature in the upper part of the storage area, and the control When the door opening for opening and closing the front opening of the vending machine main body is opened and closed during the cooling operation, the front opening is once opened and then closed. The air in the storage area was introduced into the air guide path from one of the intermediate opening and the lower opening formed between the side opening and the upper opening, and passed through the air guide path from the other of the intermediate opening and the lower opening. A recovery zone cooling operation for cooling the product stored on the lower side of the product storage device by driving the circulation means in a mode of sending air to the storage area is a threshold at which the temperature detected by the lower internal temperature sensor is predetermined the falls below Continued until, subsequently, introduced into the air guide passage of air of the storage area from one of the lower-side opening and the upper side opening, and the housing area of the air passing through the air guide path from the other of the lower-side opening and the upper-side opening The entire recovery cooling operation for cooling the product stored in the product storage device is performed by driving the circulation means in the delivery mode, and the detected temperature of the upper internal temperature sensor falls below a predetermined threshold value. The whole recovery cooling operation is stopped and the cold holding operation is performed.

In the vending machine, the present invention further includes a lower internal temperature sensor that detects a temperature in the lower part of the storage area, and an upper internal temperature sensor that detects a temperature in the upper part of the storage area, and the control In the case of performing the cold insulation operation, the means compares the operation standard information related to the elapsed time from the start of the cold insulation operation and the reference sales quantity with the product sale quantity, and the reference sale of the elapsed time corresponding to the product sale quantity corresponds. When the number is more than a few, the air in the storage area is introduced into one of the intermediate opening and the lower opening formed between the lower opening and the upper opening in the duct, and the intermediate opening and the lower opening The lower interior temperature sensor performs a recovery zone cooling operation for cooling the product stored on the lower side of the product storage device by driving the circulation means in a mode in which air passing through the air guide path from the other side is sent to the storage region Continued until the detected temperature by falls below a predetermined threshold value, thereafter, introduced into the air guide passage of air of the storage area from one of the lower-side opening and the upper side opening, and the other of the lower-side opening and the upper-side opening Detection of the upper internal temperature sensor is performed by performing a recovery overall cooling operation for cooling the product stored in the product storage device by driving the circulation means in a mode of sending the air that has passed through the air guide path to the storage area. When the temperature falls below a predetermined threshold, the entire recovery cooling operation is stopped and the cold insulation operation is performed.

In the vending machine, the present invention further includes a lower internal temperature sensor that detects a temperature in the lower part of the storage area, and an upper internal temperature sensor that detects a temperature in the upper part of the storage area, and the control The means calculates a rate of temperature increase detected by the lower internal temperature sensor during the cold insulation operation, and exceeds a predetermined upper limit temperature during the cold insulation operation from the calculated temperature rise rate. The air in the storage area is introduced into the air duct from one of the intermediate opening and the lower opening formed between the lower opening and the upper opening in the duct, and the intermediate opening and the lower A recovery zone cooling operation for cooling the product stored on the lower side of the product storage device by driving the circulation means in a mode of sending the air that has passed through the air guide path from the other side opening to the storage area is performed in the lower chamber For temperature sensor Performed to below the threshold the detected temperature is predetermined that, thereafter, introduced into the air guide passage of air of the storage area from one of the lower-side opening and the upper side opening, and the other of the lower-side opening and the upper-side opening Detection of the upper internal temperature sensor is performed by performing a recovery overall cooling operation for cooling the product stored in the product storage device by driving the circulation means in a mode of sending the air that has passed through the air guide path to the storage area. When the temperature falls below a predetermined threshold, the entire recovery cooling operation is stopped and the cold insulation operation is performed.

According to the vending machine of the present invention, an embodiment of sending the introducing air above lateral side apertures or et housed region in the air guide passage, and passed through the lower side opening port or we wind guide path air storage area Since the entire cooling operation for cooling the product stored in the product storage device is performed by driving the circulation means, the product on the lower side of the product storage device including the next sale product, The product can be cooled by cold air that is cooled by the product on the upper side of the product storage device and flows downward. In particular, in vending machines equipped with a product storage device that pays out the lowest product, the highest product can be left in the product storage as a cooling source until the end. It can be used to cool other products. As a result, the time required for the cold operation can be increased. In addition, the cooling operation supply amount is calculated based on the cooling load information related to the cooling load of the product stored in the product storage device, and the operation information related to the cooling load and the cooling operation supply amount. Since the entire cooling operation is performed, the cooling operation supply amount such as the optimum operation time and operation output can be calculated, and the entire cooling operation can be suppressed from becoming excessive with respect to the cooling load. The power consumption can be reduced. Therefore, there is an effect that it is possible to extend the cool operation time and reduce the power consumption.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view showing a vending machine according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing a characteristic control system of the vending machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of the circulation of the internal air of the commodity storage in the case of performing the entire cooling operation. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of the circulation of the internal air of the commodity storage when the zone cooling operation is performed. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of the entire cooling operation time determination process performed when the zone cooling operation is performed. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a table used in the overall cooling operation time determination process shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing content of the recovery operation control process performed when the cold insulation operation is performed. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the processing content of a modified example of the recovery operation control processing. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a reference table used in the recovery operation control process shown in FIG. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the processing content of another modified example of the recovery operation control processing. FIG. 11 is a block diagram schematically showing a characteristic control system of the vending machine according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of the overall cooling operation time determination process performed when the zone cooling operation is performed. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a table used in the overall cooling operation time determination process shown in FIG. FIG. 14 is a block diagram schematically showing a characteristic control system of the vending machine according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of the overall cooling operation time determination process performed when the zone cooling operation is performed. FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing a table used in the overall cooling operation time determination process shown in FIG.

  Exemplary embodiments of a vending machine according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<Embodiment 1>
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view showing a vending machine according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The vending machine illustrated here sells products such as canned drinks and plastic bottled drinks in a cooled or heated state, and includes a main body cabinet 1 that is a main body of the vending machine.

  The main body cabinet 1 is configured by appropriately combining a plurality of metal plates, and is configured in a rectangular parallelepiped shape with an open front surface. The main body cabinet 1 is provided with a commodity storage 2 having a heat insulating structure with a front surface opened therein. In the first embodiment, the product storage 2 is configured in the space surrounded by the heat insulation board by arranging the heat insulation board previously formed into a plate shape on the inner surface of the main body cabinet 1. Although the heat insulation board is not clearly shown in the drawing, a resin film or kraft paper is adhered as a face material to both front and back surfaces of a plate-like member formed of a heat insulating material such as urethane foam.

  A product storage rack 10 which is a product storage device is disposed in the storage area 2 a of the product storage 2. The product storage rack 10 is configured with a meander-shaped product storage passage 13 extending in the vertical direction by disposing a passage forming member 12 between a pair of side plates 11. While the merchandise is stored in the passage 13, when a merchandise sales instruction is given, the merchandise is paid out from the lowest position. In the first embodiment, the product storage rack 10 having a plurality of product storage passages 13 is arranged in the front-rear direction.

  In addition, the product storage 2 is provided with a product shooter 3 and a rear duct 20. The product shooter 3 is provided in a lower area of the product storage rack 10. The product shooter 3 is a flat plate-like member having a large number of air holes, and is inclined and arranged in a manner that gradually decreases from the rear to the front of the product storage case 2.

  The back duct 20 constitutes an air guide path 20a that is partitioned from the storage area 2a on the back side of the commodity storage 2. The rear duct 20 extends in the vertical direction, and the uppermost portion is positioned above the product stored in the product storage rack 10.

  In the rear duct 20, a lower opening 21 is provided in a portion below the product shooter 3, and an upper opening 22 is provided in a portion above the products stored in the product storage rack 10. Is provided.

  Further, in the rear duct 20, a lower internal blower fan F <b> 1 is provided in front of the lower opening 21, and an upper internal blower fan F <b> 2 is provided in front of the upper opening 22. Yes. The lower side internal blower fan F1 and the upper side internal blower fan F2 are driven according to a drive command from a control unit (control means) 50, which will be described later, so that the air inside the product storage case 2 is transferred to the storage area 2a. It is a circulation means for circulating between the air guide path 20a. Here, when driven, the lower-side internal blower fan F1 sends air in the air guide path 20a to the storage area 2a through the lower-side opening 21, and the upper-side internal blower fan F2 is driven. In this case, the air in the storage area 2a is introduced from the upper opening 22 into the air guide path 20a.

  Further, in the rear duct 20, it is between the lower side opening 21 and the upper side opening 22, and is at a height level corresponding to the several items from the lowest one among the products stored in the product storage rack 10. An intermediate opening 23 is provided (see FIG. 1).

  An evaporator 4a and a heater H are provided in the lower area of the product shooter 3 on the front side of the lower side internal fan F1. The evaporator 4a is disposed on the front side of the lower internal blower fan F1, and is a cooling unit together with the compressor 4b, the condenser 4c, and the expansion mechanism 4d disposed in the machine room 5 below the product storage 2. It is the cooling means which comprises. The heater H is a heating unit that is disposed in front of the evaporator 4a and generates heat when energized.

  On the other hand, the vending machine is provided with an inner door 30 and an outer door 40 which are door bodies. The inner door 30 is for covering the front opening of the commodity storage 2 and has a heat insulating structure that can be opened and closed at one side edge of the main body cabinet 1. The inner door 30 is provided with a product outlet 31. The product carry-out port 31 is opened and closed by a product carry-out door 32.

  The outer door 40 is for covering the front opening of the main body cabinet 1 and is disposed at one side edge of the main body cabinet 1 so as to be openable and closable at a position on the front side of the inner door 30. A front side of the outer door 40 is provided with a display window 41 and a product outlet 42 that are necessary for selling products, and although not shown in the figure, a product selection button, a bill insertion slot, a coin insertion slot A return lever, a monetary indicator, a coin return slot, etc. are provided. Here, the product outlet 42 is opened and closed by a product outlet door 43.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing a characteristic control system of the vending machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the vending machine according to the first embodiment includes a vending machine control unit 100, a lower chamber temperature sensor (lower temperature detection means) S1, an upper chamber temperature sensor (upper temperature detection means) S2, An open / close sensor S3 and a control unit 50 are provided.

  The vending machine control unit 100 controls the overall sales operation of the vending machine according to programs and data stored in a storage unit (not shown).

  The lower internal temperature sensor S <b> 1 is provided in the lower part of the product storage rack 10. When detecting the lower temperature of the storage area 2 a in the product storage 2, the lower interior temperature sensor S <b> 1 sends that fact as a detection signal to the control unit 50.

  The upper internal temperature sensor S <b> 2 is provided in the upper part of the product storage rack 10. When the lower internal temperature sensor S1 detects the upper temperature of the storage area 2a in the commodity storage 2, the lower storage temperature sensor S1 sends a notification to that effect to the control unit 50.

  The open / close sensor S <b> 3 detects opening / closing of the front opening of the main body cabinet 1. The open / close sensor S3 outputs an ON signal to the control unit 50 when the door body (the inner door 30 and the outer door 40) is opened to open the front opening of the main body cabinet 1. When the door is closed and the front opening of the main body cabinet 1 is closed, an off signal is output to the control unit 50.

  The control unit 50 controls the drive of the compressor 4b, the lower side internal blower fan F1 and the upper side internal blower fan F2 according to programs and data stored in advance in the memory 60, and an input processing unit. 501, an operation determination unit 502, a compressor drive processing unit 503, and a fan drive processing unit 504. The control unit 50 is configured to be able to communicate with the vending machine control unit 100. In the first embodiment, the control unit 50 is configured in a form independent of the vending machine control unit 100. However, in the present invention, the control unit 50 may form a common control body together with the vending machine control unit 100. .

  The input processing unit 501 inputs signals given from the lower chamber temperature sensor S1, the upper chamber temperature sensor S2, and the open / close sensor S3, and inputs various information from the vending machine control unit 100.

  The operation determining unit 502 determines that the overall cooling operation is performed when the switching time to the overall cooling operation (total cooling operation start time) has elapsed, and performs the overall cooling operation until the switching time to the cold insulation operation. When the cool operation switching time (cold operation start time) is reached, it is determined to perform the cool operation. Further, the cold insulation operation is performed until the switching time to the zone cooling operation (zone cooling operation start time), and when the zone cooling operation switching time is reached, it is determined to perform the zone cooling operation. That is, the vending machine sequentially performs the whole cooling operation → the cold insulation operation → the zone cooling operation in accordance with a predetermined time schedule.

  The operation determination unit 502 calculates a time for performing the entire cooling operation in an entire cooling operation time determination process to be described later, and performs a process for determining the entire cooling operation switching time. That is, the vending machine of the first embodiment can adjust the total cooling operation time by making the total cooling operation switching time variable.

  Further, the operation determination unit 502 determines whether or not to perform a recovery operation (zone cooling operation and overall cooling operation) in a recovery operation control process described later.

  The compressor drive processing unit 503 performs a drive process of the compressor 4b by giving a drive command or a drive stop command to the compressor 4b.

  The fan drive processing unit 504 gives a drive command or a drive stop command to the lower-side internal blower fan F1 and the upper-side internal blower fan F2 to provide the lower-side internal blower fan F1 and the upper-side internal blower fan F2. The drive process is performed.

  In the vending machine having the above-described configuration, when the entire cooling operation is performed, the control unit 50 maintains the drive of the compressor 4b through the compressor drive processing unit 503, and the lower side through the fan drive processing unit 504. The internal blower fan F1 and the upper internal blower fan F2 are driven.

  Thereby, as shown in FIG. 3, the air in the storage area 2a in the product storage case 2 enters the air guide path 20a from the upper side opening 22, and after passing through the air guide path 20a, is stored in the storage area from the lower side opening 21. The product sent to 2a and stored in the product storage rack 10 passes through and circulates. That is, the internal air cooled by the evaporator 4 a passes through the product storage rack 10 and cools the product stored in the product storage rack 10. As a result of performing the entire cooling operation, the entire product stored in the product storage rack 10 is cooled to a desired temperature state.

  When such a whole cooling operation is performed and the cold insulation operation switching time is reached, the vending machine shifts from the whole cooling operation to the cold insulation operation.

  When performing the cold insulation operation, the control unit 50 stops the operation of the compressor 4b through the compressor drive processing unit 503, and the lower side internal blower fan F1 and the upper side internal blower fan through the fan drive processing unit 504. F2 is stopped.

  Thereby, the air inside the product container 2 is not circulated in the warehouse, and is not cooled by the evaporator 4a. In this cold operation, the lower product of the product storage rack 10 is kept in a cooled state by the cold air cooled by the upper product flowing downward.

  When such a cold insulation operation is performed and the zone cooling operation switching time is reached, the vending machine shifts from the cold insulation operation to the zone cooling operation.

  When performing the zone cooling operation, the control unit 50 drives the compressor 4b through the compressor drive processing unit 503 and drives only the lower internal blower fan F1 through the fan drive processing unit 504.

  Thereby, as shown in FIG. 4, the air in the storage area 2a in the product storage case 2 enters the air guide path 20a from the intermediate opening 23, and after passing through the air guide path 20a, from the lower side opening 21 to the storage area 2a. Circulates through the product sent to the product storage rack 10 and stored in the product storage rack 10. That is, the internal air cooled by the evaporator 4 a passes through the lower part of the commodity storage rack 10 and cools the commodity stored in the lower part of the commodity storage rack 10. As a result of performing the zone cooling operation, the product stored in the lower part of the product storage rack 10 is cooled to a desired temperature state.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of the entire cooling operation time determination process performed when the above-described zone cooling operation is performed.

  When performing the above-described zone cooling operation, when the cumulative number of products sold since the last time of product replenishment is input from the vending machine control unit 100 through the input processing unit 501 (step S101: Yes), the control unit 50 The inventory quantity in the product storage rack 10 is calculated through the operation determination unit 502 (step S102). The calculation of the stock quantity is performed by assuming that the product is filled up to the storage upper limit value of the product storage rack 10 when the product is replenished, and subtracting the cumulative number of product sales from the storage upper limit value. In the first embodiment, the inventory quantity is calculated by subtracting the number of goods sold from the storage upper limit value. However, in the present invention, the inventory quantity is calculated by detecting the weight of the goods carry-out device. Various methods may be adopted to calculate the inventory quantity.

  The control unit 50 that has calculated the inventory quantity reads a table (operation information) from the memory 60 through the operation determination unit 502 (step S103). As shown in FIG. 6, the table read out here associates the inventory quantity with the total cooling operation time, and is stored in advance in the memory 60. In this table, when the inventory quantity is a1 or more, the total cooling operation time is T1 (maximum time), and when the inventory quantity is a2 or more and less than a1, the total cooling operation time is T2 shorter than T1. The total cooling operation time is T3 shorter than T2 when the inventory quantity is a3 or more and less than a2, and the overall cooling operation time is T4 shorter than T3 when the inventory quantity is less than a3. Shall.

  The control unit 50 that has read the table calculates the total cooling operation time by comparing the inventory quantity calculated through the operation determination unit 502 with the table (step S104). Here, it is assumed that T2 is calculated as the total cooling operation time, assuming that the stock quantity is a2 or more and less than a1.

  The control unit 50 that has calculated the total cooling operation time in this way determines the total cooling operation switching time through the operation determination unit 502 (step S105). When the total cooling operation time is calculated as T2, since T2 is shorter than T1, the total cooling operation time is determined from the total cooling operation switching time (for example, “23:00”) determined in advance as T1. Is determined at a later time (for example, “10:00”). As a result, the zone cooling operation time is relatively extended.

  The control unit 50 that has determined the overall cooling operation switching time thereafter returns the procedure and ends the current process.

  According to such a total cooling operation time determination process, since the total cooling operation switching time is variable and the total cooling operation time is calculated according to the inventory quantity in the product storage rack 10, the optimum total cooling operation according to the cooling load is calculated. Since the time is calculated, it is possible to suppress the overall cooling operation time from being excessive with respect to the cooling load and reduce the power consumption.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of the recovery operation control process that is performed when the above-described cold insulation operation is performed.

  When performing the above-described cooling operation, when the signal from the opening / closing sensor S3 input through the input processing unit 501 is switched from the on signal to the off signal (step S111: Yes), that is, the door body (the inner door 30 and the door 30). When the front door of the main body cabinet 1 is once opened and closed by opening and closing the outer door 40), the control unit 50 determines that the product has been replenished through the compressor drive processing unit 503. While driving the compressor 4b, the lower side internal blower fan F1 is driven through the fan drive processing unit 504 (steps S112 and S113).

  As shown in FIG. 4, the compressor 4b is driven and the lower side internal blower fan F1 is driven, so that the air in the storage area 2a in the product storage 2 is guided from the intermediate opening 23. After entering the path 20a and passing through the air guide path 20a, the product is sent from the lower side opening 21 to the storage area 2a and circulates through the product stored in the product storage rack 10, and the above-described zone cooling operation is performed. A similar recovery operation (hereinafter also referred to as “recovery zone cooling operation”) is performed.

  Thereafter, when the lower temperature is input from the lower internal temperature sensor S1 through the input processing unit 501 (step S114: Yes), the control unit 50 reads out the lower threshold value from the memory 60 through the operation determining unit 502, and the lower temperature and lower threshold value are read out. Are compared (step S115). The lower threshold value is stored in advance in the memory 60 as a threshold value for stopping the recovery zone cooling operation.

When the lower temperature is equal to or higher than the lower threshold (step S115: No), the control unit 50 continues the recovery zone cooling operation. That is, the recovery zone cooling operation is performed until the lower temperature falls below the lower threshold.

On the other hand, when the lower temperature falls below the lower threshold value (step S115: Yes), the control unit 50 drives the upper internal blower fan F2 through the fan drive processing unit 504 (step S116).

  As shown in FIG. 3, the air in the upper storage box fan F <b> 2 is driven in this way, so that the air in the storage area 2 a in the product storage room 2 enters the air guide path 20 a from the upper side opening 22, After passing through the air guide path 20a, the product is sent to the storage area 2a from the lower side opening 21 and passes through the product stored in the product storage rack 10, and circulates. , Also referred to as “overall recovery cooling operation”).

  Thereafter, when the upper temperature is input from the upper internal temperature sensor S2 through the input processing unit 501 (step S117: Yes), the control unit 50 reads the upper threshold value from the memory 60 through the operation determining unit 502, and the upper temperature and the upper threshold value are read out. Are compared (step S118). The upper threshold value is stored in advance in the memory 60 as a threshold value for stopping the recovery overall cooling operation.

When the upper temperature is equal to or higher than the upper threshold (step S118: No), the control unit 50 continues the recovery overall cooling operation. That is, the entire recovery cooling operation is performed until the upper temperature falls below the upper threshold.

On the other hand, when the upper temperature is lower than the upper threshold value (step S118: Yes), the control unit 50 stops driving the compressor 4b through the compressor drive processing unit 503 and also lowers the inside of the lower side warehouse through the fan drive processing unit 504. The driving of the blower fan F1 and the upper internal blower fan F2 is stopped (steps S119 and S120), the process returns to the cold insulation operation, and then the procedure is returned to end the current recovery operation control process.

  According to such a recovery operation control process, even when the inside temperature of the product container 2 rises due to product replenishment during the cold storage operation, the recovery zone cooling operation and the overall recovery cooling operation are performed. The product stored in the product storage rack 10 can be cooled satisfactorily and the cold insulation operation can be continued until the zone cooling operation switching time.

  As described above, in the vending machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention, when performing the entire cooling operation, the control unit 50 drives the lower side internal fan B1 and the upper internal fan F2. As a result, the air in the storage area 2a of the product storage 2 enters the air guide path 20a from the upper opening 22 and passes through the air guide path 20a, and then is sent from the lower opening 21 to the storage area 2a. Since the entire product stored in the product storage rack 10 is cooled by being circulated inside the storage room 2, the product on the lower side of the product storage rack 10 including the next sale product can be transferred to the cold storage operation after that. The product storage rack 10 can be cooled by cool air that is cooled by the product on the upper side and flows downward. In particular, in the vending machine according to the first embodiment that pays out the lowest-order product, the highest-order product can be left in the product storage 2 as a cooling source until the end. Other products can be cooled effectively. As a result, the time required for the cold operation can be increased.

  In addition, when performing the zone cooling operation, the control unit 50 drives only the lower side internal fan F1 to cause the air in the storage area 2a of the product storage 2 to enter the air guide path 20a from the intermediate opening 23. The product on the lower side of the product storage rack 10 including the next sale product is intensively circulated inside the product storage 2 so as to be sent to the storage area 2a from the lower opening 21 after passing through the air guide path 20a. It can cool and can prevent these lower goods from deviating from a suitable cooling temperature zone, and, as a result, the deviation of a sales opportunity can be avoided.

  Furthermore, by performing the overall cooling operation time determination process during the cold insulation operation, the optimum overall cooling operation time can be calculated according to the cooling load, and the overall cooling operation time becomes excessive with respect to the cooling load. Since this can be suppressed, power consumption can be reduced.

  Therefore, according to the vending machine according to the first embodiment, there is no possibility of deviating from the sales opportunity of the product, and it is possible to increase the cooling operation time and reduce the power consumption.

  According to the vending machine, since the recovery overall cooling operation is performed after performing the recovery zone cooling operation as necessary during the cold insulation operation, the lower product of the product storage rack 10 including the next sale product is cooled first. Thus, deviation of sales opportunities can be prevented.

  Further, according to the vending machine, the lower internal blower fan F <b> 1 is provided in front of the lower opening 21, and the upper internal blower fan F <b> 2 is provided in front of the upper opening 22. As a result, the internal air can be circulated efficiently, thereby improving the cooling efficiency.

  The preferred embodiment 1 of the present invention has been described above. However, in this embodiment 1, the following recovery operation control process may be performed instead of the above-described recovery operation control process.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the processing content of a modified example of the recovery operation control processing.

  When the number of products sold is input from the vending machine control unit 100 through the input processing unit 501 during the cold insulation operation described above (step S131: Yes), the control unit 50 stores the reference table from the memory 60 through the operation determination unit 502. (Operation standard information) is read (step S132). As shown in FIG. 9, the reference table read here is an association of the elapsed time from the cold insulation operation switching time (cold insulation operation start time) and the standard sales quantity, and is stored in advance in the memory 60. . In this reference table, the reference sales number when the elapsed time from the cold insulation operation switching time is within A hour is b1, and the reference sales number when the elapsed time from the cold insulation operation switching time is within A to B hours is It is assumed that b2 is smaller than b1, and the reference sales number is b3 which is less than b2 when the elapsed time from the cold insulation operation switching time is within C to B hours.

  The control unit 50 that has read the reference table uses the time measured by the built-in clock to compare whether or not the product sales number is equal to or higher than the reference sales number at the corresponding elapsed time through the operation determination unit 502 (step S1). S133).

  If the product sales number is less than the reference sales number in the corresponding elapsed time (step S133: No), the control unit 50 returns the procedure without performing the process described later, and ends the current recovery operation control process. To do.

  When the product sales number is equal to or greater than the reference sales number in the corresponding elapsed time (step S133: Yes), the control unit 50 drives the compressor 4b through the compressor drive processing unit 503 and moves downward through the fan drive processing unit 504. The side internal blower fan F1 is driven (step S134, step S135).

  As shown in FIG. 4, the compressor 4b is driven and the lower side internal blower fan F1 is driven, so that the air in the storage area 2a in the product storage 2 is guided from the intermediate opening 23. After entering the path 20a and passing through the air guide path 20a, the product is sent from the lower opening 21 to the storage area 2a and circulates through the product stored in the product storage rack 10, and the recovery zone cooling operation is performed. Is called.

  Thereafter, when the lower temperature is input from the lower chamber temperature sensor S1 through the input processing unit 501 (step S136: Yes), the control unit 50 reads out the lower threshold value from the memory 60 through the operation determining unit 502, and the lower temperature and lower threshold value are read out. Are compared (step S137). The lower threshold value is stored in advance in the memory 60 as a threshold value for stopping the recovery zone cooling operation.

When the lower temperature is equal to or higher than the lower threshold (step S137: No), the control unit 50 continues the recovery zone cooling operation. That is, the recovery zone cooling operation is performed until the lower temperature falls below the lower threshold.

On the other hand, when the lower temperature falls below the lower threshold (step S137: Yes), the control unit 50 drives the upper internal blower fan F2 through the fan drive processing unit 504 (step S138).

  As shown in FIG. 3, the air in the upper storage box fan F <b> 2 is driven in this way, so that the air in the storage area 2 a in the product storage room 2 enters the air guide path 20 a from the upper side opening 22, After passing through the air guide path 20a, the product is sent from the lower opening 21 to the storage area 2a and circulates through the product stored in the product storage rack 10, and the entire recovery cooling operation is performed.

  Thereafter, when the upper temperature is input from the upper internal temperature sensor S2 through the input processing unit 501 (step S139: Yes), the control unit 50 reads the upper threshold value from the memory 60 through the operation determining unit 502, and the upper temperature and the upper threshold value are read out. Are compared (step S140). The upper threshold value is stored in advance in the memory 60 as a threshold value for stopping the recovery overall cooling operation.

When the upper temperature is equal to or higher than the upper threshold (step S140: No), the control unit 50 continues the recovery overall cooling operation. That is, the entire recovery cooling operation is performed until the upper temperature falls below the upper threshold.

On the other hand, when the upper temperature is lower than the upper threshold value (step S140: Yes), the control unit 50 stops driving the compressor 4b through the compressor drive processing unit 503 and also lowers the inside of the lower side warehouse through the fan drive processing unit 504. The driving of the blower fan F1 and the upper internal blower fan F2 is stopped (steps S141 and S142), the process returns to the cold insulation operation, and then the procedure is returned to end the current recovery operation control process.

  According to such a recovery operation control process, even when the temperature inside the product container 2 gradually rises due to the sale of products as the cold storage operation progresses, the recovery zone cooling operation and the entire recovery cooling operation are performed. By doing so, the product stored in the product storage rack 10 can be satisfactorily cooled, and the cold insulation operation can be continued until the zone cooling operation switching time.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the processing content of another modified example of the recovery operation control processing.

  When the lower temperature is input from the lower internal temperature sensor S1 through the input processing unit 501 during the cold insulation operation described above (step S151: Yes), the control unit 50 determines the rate of temperature increase through the operation determination unit 502. Calculate (step S152). Here, the rate (inclination) of the temperature rise with respect to the elapsed time from the previous lower temperature input to the current lower temperature input is calculated using the lower temperature input last time and the lower temperature input this time.

  The control unit 50 that has calculated the temperature rise rate compares the calculated temperature rise rate through the operation determination unit 502 to determine whether or not the allowable upper limit temperature that has been determined in advance during the cold insulation operation is exceeded (step S153). .

  When it is determined from the calculated temperature increase rate that the upper limit temperature is not exceeded during the cold insulation operation (step S153: No), the control unit 50 returns the procedure without performing the process described later, The recovery operation control process ends.

  When it is determined from the calculated temperature rise rate that the allowable upper limit temperature determined in advance during the cooling operation is exceeded (step S153: Yes), the control unit 50 passes the compressor through the compressor drive processing unit 503. 4b is driven, and the lower-side internal blower fan F1 is driven through the fan drive processing unit 504 (steps S154 and S155).

  As shown in FIG. 4, the compressor 4b is driven and the lower side internal blower fan F1 is driven, so that the air in the storage area 2a in the product storage 2 is guided from the intermediate opening 23. After entering the path 20a and passing through the air guide path 20a, the product is sent from the lower opening 21 to the storage area 2a and circulates through the product stored in the product storage rack 10, and the recovery zone cooling operation is performed. Is called.

  Thereafter, when the lower temperature is input from the lower chamber temperature sensor S1 through the input processing unit 501 (step S156: Yes), the control unit 50 reads out the lower threshold value from the memory 60 through the operation determining unit 502, and the lower temperature and lower threshold value are read out. Are compared (step S157). The lower threshold value is stored in advance in the memory 60 as a threshold value for stopping the recovery zone cooling operation.

When the lower temperature is equal to or higher than the lower threshold (step S157: No), the control unit 50 continues the recovery zone cooling operation. That is, the recovery zone cooling operation is performed until the lower temperature falls below the lower threshold.

On the other hand, when the lower temperature falls below the lower threshold value (step S157: Yes), the control unit 50 drives the upper internal blower fan F2 through the fan drive processing unit 504 (step S158).

  As shown in FIG. 3, the air in the upper storage box fan F <b> 2 is driven in this way, so that the air in the storage area 2 a in the product storage room 2 enters the air guide path 20 a from the upper side opening 22, After passing through the air guide path 20a, the product is sent from the lower opening 21 to the storage area 2a and circulates through the product stored in the product storage rack 10, and the entire recovery cooling operation is performed.

  Thereafter, when the upper temperature is input from the upper internal temperature sensor S2 through the input processing unit 501 (step S159: Yes), the control unit 50 reads the upper threshold value from the memory 60 through the operation determining unit 502, and the upper temperature and the upper threshold value are read out. Are compared (step S160). The upper threshold value is stored in advance in the memory 60 as a threshold value for stopping the recovery overall cooling operation.

When the upper temperature is equal to or higher than the upper threshold (step S160: No), the control unit 50 continues the recovery overall cooling operation. That is, the entire recovery cooling operation is performed until the upper temperature falls below the upper threshold.

On the other hand, when the upper temperature is lower than the upper threshold value (step S160: Yes), the control unit 50 stops driving the compressor 4b through the compressor drive processing unit 503 and also lowers the inside of the lower side warehouse through the fan drive processing unit 504. The driving of the blower fan F1 and the upper internal blower fan F2 is stopped (steps S161 and S162), the process returns to the cold insulation operation, and then the procedure is returned to end the current recovery operation control process.

  According to such a recovery operation control process, the product storage rack can be obtained by performing the recovery zone cooling operation and the overall recovery cooling operation even when the temperature inside the product storage 2 gradually rises with the progress of the cold insulation operation. The goods stored in 10 can be cooled well, and the cold insulation operation can be continued until the zone cooling operation switching time. Here, the recovery zone cooling operation and the entire recovery cooling operation were performed when it was determined that the upper limit temperature was exceeded during the cold insulation operation, but in the present invention, the recovery zone cooling operation and The whole recovery cooling operation may be performed.

<Embodiment 2>
FIG. 11 is a block diagram schematically showing a characteristic control system of the vending machine according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In addition, about the same structure as the vending machine which is Embodiment 1 mentioned above, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and the description is abbreviate | omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the vending machine according to the second embodiment includes a vending machine control unit 100, a lower chamber temperature sensor S1 (lower temperature detection means), an upper chamber temperature sensor S2 (upper temperature detection means), An outside air temperature sensor S4 and a control unit 51 are provided.

  The outside air temperature sensor S4 is provided outside the main body cabinet 1. When the outside air temperature sensor S4 detects the outside air temperature, the outside air temperature sensor S4 sends the fact as a detection signal to the control unit 51.

  The control unit 51 controls the drive of the compressor 4b, the lower side internal blower fan F1, and the upper side internal blower fan F2 according to programs and data stored in the memory 61 in advance, and an input processing unit 511, an operation determination unit 512, a compressor drive processing unit 513, and a fan drive processing unit 514. The control unit 51 is configured to be able to communicate with the vending machine control unit 100. In the second embodiment, the control unit 51 is configured in a form independent of the vending machine control unit 100. However, in the present invention, the control unit 51 may form a common control body together with the vending machine control unit.

  The input processing unit 511 inputs signals given from the lower chamber temperature sensor S1, the upper chamber temperature sensor S2, and the outside air temperature sensor S4 and inputs various information from the vending machine control unit 100.

  The operation determination unit 512 determines that the entire cooling operation is performed when the switching time to the entire cooling operation (the entire cooling operation start time) has elapsed, and performs the entire cooling operation until the switching time to the cold insulation operation. When the cool operation switching time (cold operation start time) is reached, it is determined to perform the cool operation. Further, the cold insulation operation is performed until the switching time to the zone cooling operation (zone cooling operation start time), and when the zone cooling operation switching time is reached, it is determined to perform the zone cooling operation. That is, the vending machine sequentially performs the whole cooling operation → the cold insulation operation → the zone cooling operation in accordance with a predetermined time schedule.

  In addition, the operation determination unit 512 performs a process of calculating a time for performing the entire cooling operation in an entire cooling operation time determining process described later and determining an entire cooling operation switching time. That is, the vending machine of the second embodiment can adjust the total cooling operation time by making the total cooling operation switching time variable.

  Further, the operation determination unit 512 determines whether or not to perform a recovery operation (zone cooling operation and overall cooling operation) in the recovery operation control process.

  The compressor drive processing unit 513 gives a drive command or a drive stop command to the compressor 4b and performs drive processing of the compressor 4b.

  The fan drive processing unit 514 gives a drive command or a drive stop command to the lower-side internal blower fan F1 and the upper-side internal blower fan F2 to provide the lower-side internal blower fan F1 and the upper-side internal blower fan F2. The drive process is performed.

  In the vending machine having the above-described configuration, when the entire cooling operation is performed, the control unit 51 maintains the drive of the compressor 4b through the compressor drive processing unit 513, and the lower side through the fan drive processing unit 514. The internal blower fan F1 and the upper internal blower fan F2 are driven.

  As a result, the air in the storage area 2a in the product storage case 2 enters the air guide path 20a from the upper opening 22 and is sent to the storage area 2a from the lower opening 21 after passing through the air guide path 20a. The product stored in the rack 10 is circulated through the product (see FIG. 3). That is, the internal air cooled by the evaporator 4 a passes through the product storage rack 10 and cools the product stored in the product storage rack 10. As a result of performing the entire cooling operation, the entire product stored in the product storage rack 10 is cooled to a desired temperature state.

  When such a whole cooling operation is performed and the cold insulation operation switching time is reached, the vending machine shifts from the whole cooling operation to the cold insulation operation.

  When performing the cold insulation operation, the control unit 51 causes the compressor 4b to stop driving through the compressor drive processing unit 513, and the lower side internal fan F1 and the upper side internal fan via the fan drive processing unit 514. F2 is stopped.

  Thereby, the air inside the product container 2 is not circulated in the warehouse, and is not cooled by the evaporator 4a. In this cold operation, the lower product of the product storage rack 10 is kept in a cooled state by the cold air cooled by the upper product flowing downward.

  When such a cold insulation operation is performed and the zone cooling operation switching time is reached, the vending machine shifts from the cold insulation operation to the zone cooling operation.

  When the zone cooling operation is performed, the control unit 51 drives the compressor 4b through the compressor drive processing unit 513 and drives only the lower internal blower fan F1 through the fan drive processing unit 514.

  As a result, the air in the storage area 2a in the product storage case 2 enters the air guide path 20a from the intermediate opening 23, passes through the air guide path 20a, and is then sent from the lower opening 21 to the storage area 2a to be supplied to the product storage rack. The goods stored in 10 pass through and circulate (see FIG. 4). That is, the internal air cooled by the evaporator 4 a passes through the lower part of the commodity storage rack 10 and cools the commodity stored in the lower part of the commodity storage rack 10. As a result of performing the zone cooling operation, the product stored in the lower part of the product storage rack 10 is cooled to a desired temperature state.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of the entire cooling operation time determination process performed when the above-described zone cooling operation is performed.

  When the outside air temperature is input from the outside air temperature sensor S4 through the input processing unit 511 during the zone cooling operation described above (step S201: Yes), the control unit 51 stores the table (from the memory 61 through the operation determining unit 512). (Operation information) is read (step S202). As shown in FIG. 13, the table read out here associates the outside air temperature with the total cooling operation time, and is stored in the memory 61 in advance. In this table, when the outside air temperature is c1 ° C. or more, the total cooling operation time is T1 (maximum time), and when the outside air temperature is c2 ° C. or more and less than c1 ° C., the whole cooling operation time is T2 shorter than T1. When the outside air temperature is not less than c3 ° C. and less than c2 ° C., the entire cooling operation time is set to T3 shorter than T2, and when the outside air temperature is less than c3 ° C., the entire cooling operation time is set to T4 shorter than T3. Shall.

  The control unit 51 that has read the table calculates the total cooling operation time by comparing the outside air temperature with the table through the operation determination unit 512 (step S203). Here, it is assumed that T2 is calculated as the total cooling operation time on the assumption that the outside air temperature is c2 ° C. or higher and lower than c1 ° C.

  The control unit 51 that has calculated the total cooling operation time in this way determines the total cooling operation switching time through the operation determination unit 512 (step S204). When the total cooling operation time is calculated as T2, since T2 is shorter than T1, the total cooling operation time is determined from the total cooling operation switching time (for example, “23:00”) determined in advance as T1. Is determined at a later time (for example, “10:00”). As a result, the zone cooling operation time is relatively extended.

  The control unit 51 that has determined the total cooling operation switching time thereafter returns the procedure and ends the current process.

  According to such a total cooling operation time determination process, since the total cooling operation switching time is variable and the total cooling operation time is calculated according to the outside air temperature, the optimal total cooling operation time is calculated according to the cooling load. Thus, it is possible to reduce the power consumption by suppressing the entire cooling operation time from being excessive with respect to the cooling load.

  As described above, in the vending machine according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the control unit 51 drives the lower internal fan F1 and the upper internal fan F2 when performing the entire cooling operation. As a result, the air in the storage area 2a of the product storage 2 enters the air guide path 20a from the upper opening 22 and passes through the air guide path 20a, and then is sent from the lower opening 21 to the storage area 2a. Since the entire product stored in the product storage rack 10 is cooled by being circulated inside the storage room 2, the product on the lower side of the product storage rack 10 including the next sale product can be transferred to the cold storage operation after that. The product storage rack 10 can be cooled by cool air that is cooled by the product on the upper side and flows downward. In particular, in the vending machine according to the second embodiment that pays out the lowest product, the highest product can be left in the product container 2 as a cooling source until the end. Other products can be cooled effectively. As a result, the time required for the cold operation can be increased.

  Further, in the case of performing the zone cooling operation, the control unit 51 drives only the lower side internal fan F1 so that the air in the storage area 2a in the commodity storage 2 enters the air guide path 20a from the intermediate opening 23. The product on the lower side of the product storage rack 10 including the next sale product is intensively circulated inside the product storage 2 so as to be sent to the storage area 2a from the lower opening 21 after passing through the air guide path 20a. It can cool and can prevent these lower goods from deviating from a suitable cooling temperature zone, and, as a result, the deviation of a sales opportunity can be avoided.

  Furthermore, by performing the overall cooling operation time determination process during the cold insulation operation, the optimum overall cooling operation time can be calculated according to the cooling load, and the overall cooling operation time becomes excessive with respect to the cooling load. Since this can be suppressed, power consumption can be reduced.

  Therefore, according to the vending machine of the second embodiment, there is no possibility of deviating from the sales opportunity of the product, and it is possible to lengthen the cooling operation time and reduce the power consumption.

  In the vending machine according to the second embodiment, the recovery operation control process described above can be performed during the cold insulation operation as in the vending machine according to the first embodiment. Omitted to become.

<Embodiment 3>
FIG. 14 is a block diagram schematically showing a characteristic control system of the vending machine according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In addition, about the same structure as the vending machine which is Embodiment 1 and 2 mentioned above, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and the description is abbreviate | omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 14, the vending machine according to the third embodiment includes a vending machine control unit 100, a lower chamber temperature sensor S1 (lower temperature detection means), an upper chamber temperature sensor S2 (upper temperature detection means), and A control unit 52 is provided.

  The control unit 52 controls the drive of the compressor 4b, the lower side internal blower fan F1 and the upper side internal blower fan F2 according to programs and data stored in the memory 62 in advance, and an input processing unit 521, an operation determining unit 522, a compressor drive processing unit 523, and a fan drive processing unit 524. The control unit 52 is configured to be able to communicate with the vending machine control unit 100. In the third embodiment, the control unit 52 is configured in a form independent of the vending machine control unit 100. However, in the present invention, the control unit 52 may form a common control body together with the vending machine control unit.

  The input processing unit 521 inputs signals given from the lower chamber temperature sensor S <b> 1 and the upper chamber temperature sensor S <b> 2 and inputs various information from the vending machine control unit 100.

  The operation determining unit 522 determines that the overall cooling operation is performed when the switching time to the overall cooling operation (total cooling operation start time) has elapsed, and performs the overall cooling operation until the switching time to the cold insulation operation. When the cool operation switching time (cold operation start time) is reached, it is determined to perform the cool operation. Further, the cold insulation operation is performed until the switching time to the zone cooling operation (zone cooling operation start time), and when the zone cooling operation switching time is reached, it is determined to perform the zone cooling operation. That is, the vending machine sequentially performs the whole cooling operation → the cold insulation operation → the zone cooling operation in accordance with a predetermined time schedule.

  Further, the operation determination unit 522 calculates a time for performing the entire cooling operation in an entire cooling operation time determination process to be described later, and performs a process for determining the entire cooling operation switching time. That is, the vending machine of the third embodiment can adjust the total cooling operation time by making the total cooling operation switching time variable.

  Further, the operation determination unit 522 determines whether or not to perform a recovery operation (zone cooling operation and overall cooling operation) in the recovery operation control process.

  The compressor drive processing unit 523 gives a drive command or a drive stop command to the compressor 4b and performs drive processing of the compressor 4b.

  The fan drive processing unit 524 gives a drive command or a drive stop command to the lower-side internal blower fan F1 and the upper-side internal blower fan F2 to provide the lower-side internal blower fan F1 and the upper-side internal blower fan F2. The drive process is performed.

  In the vending machine having the above-described configuration, when the entire cooling operation is performed, the control unit 52 maintains the drive of the compressor 4b through the compressor drive processing unit 523, and the lower side through the fan drive processing unit 524. The internal blower fan F1 and the upper internal blower fan F2 are driven.

  As a result, the air in the storage area 2a in the product storage case 2 enters the air guide path 20a from the upper opening 22 and is sent to the storage area 2a from the lower opening 21 after passing through the air guide path 20a. The product stored in the rack 10 is circulated through the product (see FIG. 3). That is, the internal air cooled by the evaporator 4 a passes through the product storage rack 10 and cools the product stored in the product storage rack 10. As a result of performing the entire cooling operation, the entire product stored in the product storage rack 10 is cooled to a desired temperature state.

  When such a whole cooling operation is performed and the cold insulation operation switching time is reached, the vending machine shifts from the whole cooling operation to the cold insulation operation.

  When performing the cold insulation operation, the control unit 52 causes the compressor 4b to stop driving through the compressor drive processing unit 523, and also uses the fan drive processing unit 524 to perform the lower side internal fan F1 and the upper side internal fan. F2 is stopped.

  Thereby, the air inside the product container 2 is not circulated in the warehouse, and is not cooled by the evaporator 4a. In this cold operation, the lower product of the product storage rack 10 is kept in a cooled state by the cold air cooled by the upper product flowing downward.

  When such a cold insulation operation is performed and the zone cooling operation switching time is reached, the vending machine shifts from the cold insulation operation to the zone cooling operation.

  When performing the zone cooling operation, the control unit 52 drives the compressor 4b through the compressor drive processing unit 523 and drives only the lower side internal blower fan F1 through the fan drive processing unit 524.

  As a result, the air in the storage area 2a in the product storage case 2 enters the air guide path 20a from the intermediate opening 23, passes through the air guide path 20a, and is then sent from the lower opening 21 to the storage area 2a to be supplied to the product storage rack. The goods stored in 10 pass through and circulate (see FIG. 4). That is, the internal air cooled by the evaporator 4 a passes through the lower part of the commodity storage rack 10 and cools the commodity stored in the lower part of the commodity storage rack 10. As a result of performing the zone cooling operation, the product stored in the lower part of the product storage rack 10 is cooled to a desired temperature state.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of the entire cooling operation time determination process that is performed when the above-described zone cooling operation is performed.

  When the above-described zone cooling operation is performed, when the sales information of the commodity for each day of the week until the previous week is input from the vending machine control unit 100 through the input processing unit 521 (step S301: Yes), the control unit 52 determines the operation. The number of sales included in the sales information on the same day of the week as the day of the next cold insulation operation is acquired through the unit 522 (step S302). The sales information is the sales information of the entire product storage rack 10 of the corresponding product storage 2, and the sales number is also the total sales number of the product storage rack 10.

  The control unit 52 that has acquired the number of sales reads a table (operation information) from the memory 62 through the operation determination unit 522 (step S303). As shown in FIG. 16, the table read out here relates the number of sales and the total cooling operation time, and is stored in the memory 62 in advance. In this table, the total cooling operation time is T1 (maximum time) when the sales number is d1 or more, and the total cooling operation time is T2 shorter than T1 when the sales number is d2 or more and less than d1. When the sales number is d3 or more and less than d2, the total cooling operation time is T3 shorter than T2, and when the sales number is less than d3, the total cooling operation time is T4 shorter than T3. Shall.

  The control unit 52 that has read the table calculates the total cooling operation time by comparing the number of sales with the table through the operation determination unit 522 (step S304). Here, it is assumed that T2 is calculated as the total cooling operation time on the assumption that the number of sales is not less than d2 and less than d1.

  The control unit 52 that has calculated the total cooling operation time in this way determines the total cooling operation switching time through the operation determination unit 522 (step S305). When the total cooling operation time is calculated as T2, since T2 is shorter than T1, the total cooling operation time is determined from the total cooling operation switching time (for example, “23:00”) determined in advance as T1. Is determined at a later time (for example, “10:00”). As a result, the zone cooling operation time is relatively extended.

  The control unit 52 that has determined the total cooling operation switching time thereafter returns the procedure and ends the current process.

  According to such a total cooling operation time determination process, since the total cooling operation switching time is made variable and the total cooling operation time is calculated according to the number of sales in the product storage rack 10, the optimum total cooling operation according to the cooling load. Since the time is calculated, it is possible to suppress the overall cooling operation time from being excessive with respect to the cooling load and reduce the power consumption.

  As described above, in the vending machine according to the third embodiment of the present invention, when the entire cooling operation is performed, the control unit 52 drives the lower side internal blower fan F1 and the upper side internal blower fan F2. As a result, the air in the storage area 2a of the product storage 2 enters the air guide path 20a from the upper opening 22 and passes through the air guide path 20a, and then is sent from the lower opening 21 to the storage area 2a. Since the entire product stored in the product storage rack 10 is cooled by being circulated inside the storage room 2, the product on the lower side of the product storage rack 10 including the next sale product can be transferred to the cold storage operation after that. The product storage rack 10 can be cooled by cool air that is cooled by the product on the upper side and flows downward. In particular, in the vending machine according to the third embodiment that pays out the lowest product, the highest product can be left in the product container 2 as a cooling source until the end. Other products can be cooled effectively. As a result, the time required for the cold operation can be increased.

  Further, in the case of performing the zone cooling operation, the control unit 52 drives only the lower-side internal blower fan F1 so that the air in the storage area 2a in the commodity storage 2 enters the air guide path 20a from the intermediate opening 23. The product on the lower side of the product storage rack 10 including the next sale product is intensively circulated inside the product storage 2 so as to be sent to the storage area 2a from the lower opening 21 after passing through the air guide path 20a. It can cool and can prevent these lower goods from deviating from a suitable cooling temperature zone, and, as a result, the deviation of a sales opportunity can be avoided.

  Furthermore, by performing the overall cooling operation time determination process during the cold insulation operation, the optimum overall cooling operation time can be calculated according to the cooling load, and the overall cooling operation time becomes excessive with respect to the cooling load. Since this can be suppressed, power consumption can be reduced.

  Therefore, according to the vending machine of the third embodiment, there is no possibility of deviating from the sales opportunity of the product, and it is possible to lengthen the cooling operation time and reduce the power consumption.

  In the vending machine according to the third embodiment, the recovery operation control process described above can be performed during the cold insulation operation as in the vending machine according to the first embodiment. Omitted to become.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to these, and various modifications can be made.

  In the above-described embodiment, the overall cooling operation, the cold insulation operation, and the zone cooling operation are sequentially performed. However, in the present invention, the overall cooling operation and the cold insulation operation are sequentially performed without performing the zone cooling operation. It may be.

  In the above-described embodiment, the inventory quantity information, the outside air temperature information, and the sales information for each day of the week until the previous week have been described as the cooling load information related to the cooling load, but the present invention is not limited to these. Not too long.

  In the above-described embodiment, at least one of inventory quantity, outside air temperature, and sales information is exemplified as the cooling load, and the entire cooling operation time is used using a table in which the cooling load and the time for performing the entire cooling operation are associated with each other. However, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the time for performing the entire cooling operation is exemplified as the cooling operation supply amount, but in the present invention, the cooling output amount (such as the number of rotations of the compressor) for performing the entire cooling operation is calculated as the cooling operation supply amount. The entire cooling operation may be performed with the cooling output amount. Also by this, the same effect as the effect which embodiment mentioned above can show | play can be exhibited.

  In the above-described embodiment, the entire cooling operation time determination process is performed using any one of inventory quantity information, outside air temperature information, and sales information for each day of the week until the previous week as information on the cooling load. The entire cooling operation time determination process may be performed using all the inventory quantity information, the outside air temperature information, and the sales information for each day of the week until the previous week.

  In the above-described embodiment, the table (operation information) used for the overall cooling operation time determination process has been described as being stored in advance in the memories 60, 61, 62. However, in the present invention, such a table, The parameter of the operation information may be a parameter that can be updated according to the results when the entire cooling operation, the cold insulation operation, and the zone cooling operation are performed. In this case, the updated information is stored in the memory.

  In the above-described embodiment, the reference table (operation reference information) used for the recovery operation control process has been described as being stored in advance in the memory 60. However, in the present invention, such a reference table, that is, operation reference information is used. These parameters may be updatable according to the performance during various operations. In this case, the updated information is stored in the memory.

  In the above-described embodiment, the switching time is exemplified as an example of the switching timing from the zone cooling operation to the entire cooling operation. However, in the present invention, the present invention is not limited to this, but from detection by a predetermined sensor, switch, or the like. You may make it switch from zone cooling operation to whole cooling operation by the timing which is guide | induced as switching timing.

  In the above-described embodiment, the lower side internal fan F1 is provided in front of the lower side opening 21 and the upper side internal fan F2 is provided in front of the upper side opening 22, but the present invention. As long as the function as the circulating means can be exhibited, the locations of the lower side internal fan and the upper internal fan are not particularly limited.

  In the above-described embodiment, when the entire cooling operation is performed, the air in the storage area 2a in the product storage case 2 enters the air guide path 20a from the upper opening 22 and passes through the air guide path 20a. In the present invention, the air in the storage area in the product storage room enters the air guide path from the lower side opening and passes through the air guide path. You may circulate so that it may later send out from an upper side opening to a storage area.

  In the above-described embodiment, when the zone cooling operation is performed, the air in the storage area 2a in the product storage case 2 enters the air guide path 20a from the intermediate opening 23 and passes through the air guide path 20a. Although it circulated so that it might be sent out from the opening 21 to the storage area 2a, in the present invention, after the air in the storage area in the product storage room enters the air guide path from the lower opening and passes through the air guide path. It may circulate so that it may be sent from the intermediate opening to the storage area.

  In the above-described embodiment, the back duct 20 is exemplified as the duct disposed in the product storage 2 along the vertical direction. However, the duct in the present invention is not limited to the back duct, and the product storage device (product It may be a side duct disposed along the vertical direction on the side of the storage rack.

  In the above-described embodiment, the evaporator 4a, which is a cooling means, is disposed on the front side of the lower internal blower fan F1, but in the present invention, the location of the cooling means is particularly limited. It does not matter, and any location can be used as long as the internal air of the product storage can be cooled satisfactorily.

  In the above-described embodiment, the recovery zone cooling operation and the entire recovery cooling operation during the cold insulation operation have been described with respect to one commodity storage 2, but in the present invention, a plurality of commodity storages are arranged in parallel. When applied to vending machines, when recovery zone cooling operation and overall recovery cooling operation are performed in any product storage, recovery zone cooling operation and overall recovery cooling operation are also performed in other product storage It may be.

  Moreover, in this invention, a lower side internal ventilation fan and an upper side internal ventilation fan may be what drives forward / reverse rotation, the ventilation volume of a lower side internal ventilation fan, and upper side internal ventilation Either one of the lower side internal fan and the upper side internal fan may be intermittently driven so that the air flow rate of the fan is different.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body cabinet 2 Commodity storage 2a Storage area 3 Commodity shooter 4a Evaporator 10 Commodity storage rack 11 Side plate 12 Passage formation member 13 Commodity storage path 20 Rear duct 20a Air guide path 21 Lower side opening 22 Upper side opening 23 Middle opening 30 Inside Door 31 Product exit 32 Product exit door 40 Outer door 42 Product exit 43 Product exit door 50, 51, 52 Control unit 501, 511, 521 Input processing unit 502, 512, 522 Operation determination unit 503, 513, 523 Compressor Drive processor 504, 514, 524 Fan drive processor 60, 61, 62 Memory F1 Lower internal fan F2 Upper internal fan H Heater S1 Lower internal temperature sensor S2 Upper internal temperature sensor S3 Open / close sensor S4 Outside temperature sensor

Claims (9)

A product storage device that is disposed in a storage area in the product storage inside the vending machine main body, stores the product along the vertical direction, and dispenses the lowest product when a sales instruction is given;
A duct that forms an air guide path that is partitioned from the storage area by being disposed in the product storage along the vertical direction;
By having a lower side internal blower fan provided in the lower region of the product storage case and an upper side internal blower fan provided in the upper region of the product storage case, by driving at least one of these A circulating means for circulating the air inside the commodity storage space between the storage area and the air guide path;
A vending machine comprising cooling means for cooling the air circulated by the circulation means,
In a manner that sends the air above lateral side apertures or al the storage area formed in the duct is introduced into the air guide passage, and passed through the lower side opening port or al the air guide passage air to the storage area A control means for sequentially performing an overall cooling operation for cooling the product stored in the product storage device by driving the circulation means, and a cold insulation operation for stopping the circulation means and the cooling means;
The control means calculates a cooling operation supply amount based on cooling load information related to a cooling load of the product stored in the product storage device, and operation information related to the cooling load and the cooling operation supply amount, and calculates the calculated cooling operation. The whole cooling operation is performed with a supply amount , and further, between the cold insulation operation and the whole cooling operation, from the intermediate opening formed between the lower side opening and the upper side opening in the duct. By introducing the air in the storage area into the air guide path and driving the circulation means in a mode of sending the air that has passed through the air guide path from the lower opening to the storage area, A vending machine characterized by performing a zone cooling operation for cooling stored goods . The operation information is information regarding the cooling load and the time for performing the entire cooling operation,
It said control means automatically according to claim 1, wherein the cooling calculates load information and the whole cooling operation time based on the said driving information, and performs the overall cooling operation in the overall calculated cooling operation time Vending machine. The vending machine according to claim 2 , wherein the control means performs the whole cooling operation while changing a switching timing to the whole cooling operation. The control means calculates an overall cooling operation time based on inventory quantity information related to the inventory quantity of the product in the product storage device, and operation information related to the inventory quantity and the time for performing the overall cooling operation, and the calculated overall cooling operation The vending machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the whole cooling operation is performed in time. The control means calculates the overall cooling operation time based on the outside air temperature information related to the outside air temperature and the operation information related to the outside air temperature and the time for performing the overall cooling operation, and performs the overall cooling operation based on the calculated overall cooling operation time. The vending machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the vending machine is performed. The control means includes the sales information included in the sales information on the same day of the week as the next cold insulation operation in the sales information of the product for each day of the week until the previous week, and the operation information regarding the sales number and the time for performing the entire cooling operation; vending machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5 which calculates the entire cooling operation time, and performs the overall cooling operation in the overall calculated cooling operation time based on. A lower internal temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the lower part of the storage area, and an upper internal temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the upper part of the storage area,
When the control means is closed after the front opening is once opened by opening and closing the door body that opens and closes the front opening of the vending machine main body during the cold insulation operation, The air in the storage area is introduced into one of the intermediate opening and the lower opening formed between the lower opening and the upper opening in the air guide passage, and the air guide passage is provided from the other of the intermediate opening and the lower opening. The temperature detected by the lower internal temperature sensor is determined in advance for the recovery zone cooling operation for cooling the product stored on the lower side of the product storage device by driving the circulation means in a mode of sending the passed air to the storage area. performed to below the threshold value, then, it is introduced into the air guide passage of air of the storage area from one of the lower-side opening and the upper side opening, and passes through the air guide path from the other of the lower-side opening and the upper-side opening air Storage area The stored in the product storage device by driving the circulating means in a manner that sends product to perform the recovery whole cooling operation for cooling, if below the threshold detection temperature of the upper-compartment temperature sensor is predetermined the The vending machine according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein the overall cooling cooling operation is stopped and the cold insulation operation is performed. A lower internal temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the lower part of the storage area, and an upper internal temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the upper part of the storage area,
The control means, when performing the cold insulation operation, compares the operation standard information related to the elapsed time from the start of the cold insulation operation and the reference sales number with the product sales number, When the sales volume exceeds the reference number of sales, the air in the storage area is introduced into one of the intermediate opening and the lower opening formed between the lower opening and the upper opening in the duct, and the intermediate opening and the lower opening. A recovery zone cooling operation for cooling the product stored on the lower side of the product storage device by driving the circulation means in a mode of sending the air that has passed through the air guide path from the other side opening to the storage area is performed in the lower chamber perform to below a threshold detection temperature predetermined by the temperature sensor, then, it is introduced into the air guide passage of air of the storage area from one of the lower-side opening and the upper side opening, and the lower-side opening and the upper side opening The recovery chamber cooling operation is performed by driving the circulation means in a mode in which the air that has passed through the air guide path from the other side is sent to the storage area, and the upper internal temperature is The vending machine according to any one of claims 1 to 7 , wherein when the temperature detected by the sensor falls below a predetermined threshold value, the entire recovery cooling operation is stopped and the cooling operation is performed. A lower internal temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the lower part of the storage area, and an upper internal temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the upper part of the storage area,
The control means calculates an increase rate of the temperature detected by the lower internal temperature sensor during the cold insulation operation, and sets an upper limit temperature predetermined during the cold insulation operation from the calculated temperature increase rate. If it is determined that the air volume exceeds the upper opening, the air in the storage area is introduced into one of the intermediate opening and the lower opening formed between the lower opening and the upper opening in the duct. And the recovery zone cooling operation for cooling the product stored on the lower side of the product storage device by driving the circulation means in a mode of sending the air that has passed through the air guide path from the other of the lower openings to the storage area. This is performed until the temperature detected by the internal temperature sensor falls below a predetermined threshold, and then the air in the storage area is introduced into the air guide path from one of the lower opening and the upper opening, and the lower opening and the upper side are introduced. Opening The upper internal temperature sensor is configured to perform a recovery overall cooling operation for cooling the product stored in the product storage device by driving the circulation means in a mode in which air passing through the air guide path from the other side is sent to the storage region. The vending machine according to any one of claims 1 to 8 , wherein when the detected temperature falls below a predetermined threshold value, the entire recovery cooling operation is stopped and the cold insulation operation is performed.

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